History YMMV / RevolutionaryGirlUtena

** Saionji seems to be refered to as "Wakame" by Japanese fans.

* {{Adaptation Displacement}} (This wiki had this series listed as {{Anime First}} because Saito Chiho was the last member to join Bepapas. That's true but the manga was being published before the anime started airing, which is referenced by Saito Chiho in the early volumes.)

** [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds Maybe a bit of both?]]

** Chiho Saito also did her own manga adaptation of the movie, where Akio is noticeably different from his anime counterpart, not to mention the Akio that wants to keep Anthy in the academy's world [[spoiler: is Anthy's own AlternateCharacterInterpretation of the real guy that died ages ago. Something similar seems to be the case with Touga.]]

* EarWorm - The opening song "Rinbu Revolution," along with many BGM tracks (''especially'' "Zettai Unmei Mokushiroku").
* EnsembleDarkhorse - If Juri won't seduce you, Akio ''definitely'' will.

* MisaimedFandom: [[spoiler:Those who think Anthy is a DamselInDistress forget her convoluted machinations and deep resentment of humans in general. Those who think Anthy is a WickedWitch forget that fear and anger is likely going to be the typical reaction of a person stabbed by a million swords and faced with eternal torture.]]

* ViewerGenderConfusion: Yes, Miki is a guy. The fact that his ''voice actor'' is female doesn't help this, though.

** Wakaba's [[spoiler: duel]] Just... Wakaba's [[spoiler: duel]].

*** And everyone else as well. 90% of the cast is violently off their rocker. [[LoveHurts Good luck]] [[DarkAndTroubledPast holding it]] [[UnwittingPawn against them]]

*** Not to mention ''you can hear'' the 100 dead boys ''kicking around inside their ocffins''.

** Some of the later shadow girl plays sneak into this territory. There's even a borderline GoryDiscressionShot when one of the shadow girls ''breaks the other one in half''. [[HellIsThatNoise A disturbingly realistic squishy, snapping sound is included, of course]].

** Some of the later shadow girl plays sneak into this territory. There's even a borderline GoryDisgressionShot when one of the shadow girls ''breaks the other one in half''. [[HellIsThatNoise A disturbingly realistic squishy, snapping sound is included, of course]].

*** Not to mention the entire rest of the cast. 90% of the cast is violently off their rocker. [[LoveHurts Good luck]] [[DarkAndTroubledPast holding it]] [[UnwittingPawn against them]]

* TheWoobie: A possible interpretation of Anthy's character.
** Wakaba's [[spoiler: duel]] Just... Wakaba's [[spoiler: duel]].
** JerkassWoobie: Mikage cruelly used the Black Rose Duelists (many of them were very troubled kids who desperately needed outlets and support - he listened to the, and then manipulated their feelings fo recruit 'em), but his past was really heartbreaking.

* AccidentalNightmareFuel: A few moments are quite scary, most of them involving Anthy and Akio. There's also a couple of bits from the series and movie that may push into HighOctaneNightmareFuel territory.

* CrowningMomentOfFunny: "To be an adult.. you need experience in certain things".
** Nanami's Egg, full stop. Also the three nerdy guys, whenever they appear.
** Episode 8.

* GrowingTheBeard: The first arc is fairly generic and lighthearted and despite common mentions of End of the World, it hardly feels like a massive shadow is looming in the background. In the Black Rose arc, however, things get a lot [[DarkerAndEdgier sinister]] and [[MindScrew weirder]].

** Don't forget the speculation that [[spoiler:young Anthy rapes young Dios in flashblack, simply due to the fact that the two of them take shelter in a barn (as per the English double-entendre "rolling in the hay"). Supporters of this particular [[EpilepticTrees Tree]] insist that Anthy was waiting for the "perfect moment" to "taint" her brother and "claim him for herself", forgetting that this is the same Anthy who took thousands of stab wounds to keep him, and neglecting to explain at all why anyone would stop to rape their older brother when being chased by a sword-wielding mob.]]

* NightmareFuel (A few moments are quite scary, most of it involving Anthy and Akio.)

** There's more AdaptationDisplacement going on: firstly, most people have only seen the (very wildly alternate universe) film version, because it's easier to find on torrent sites (and, well, because it's known for its {{Fanservice}}. Secondly, the series was partly based on the novel ''Demian'' by Hermann Hesse, which most anime fans wouldn't know because it's never mentioned ANYWHERE EVER.

** Chiho Saito also adapted the movie, where Akio is noticeably different from his anime counterpart, not to mention the Akio that wants to keep Anthy in the academy's world [[spoiler: is Anthy's own AlternateCharacterInterpretation of the real guy that died ages ago. Something similar seems to be the case with Touga.]]

* BrainBleach: The opening for the Utena Sega Saturn game is quite...disturbing to some.
** [[YourMilageMayVary Or simply]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLQY9r1VPcM hilarious]].

* EarWorm - The opening song "Rinbu Revolution," along with many BGM tracks.

** Shiori is referred to as "the goat" by [[{{Hatedom}} some fans]] of the show.

** The tower where Akio resides: The Cocktower.

* FetishFuel: The BrotherSisterIncest within the series isn't meant to be this, but ''[[RuleThirtyFour somebody]]'' will probably find differently, knowing fandom.
* LawfulEvil (The {{Big Bad}} [[spoiler: Akio]] tries as hard as he can to look Chaotic, yet he's utterly obsessed by rules, be it in setting up duels or seduction or whatever, and goes mad whenever something doesn't go as he had expected. Also, [[spoiler: Touga and Mikage]] both seem to take after him.)

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: Some fans [[spoiler: view Akio as as much a victim of circumstances as Anthy. (Perhaps not entirely unjustified, considering what her actions taken to save him as Dios resulted in.) If applied in fanfiction, this usually results in him either [[DracoInLeatherPants being put in leather pants]] or stumbling down a rocky road towards (eventual) redemption.]]

* NightmareFuel (A few moments are quite scary, most of it involving Anthy and Akio.)

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: Yes...the mass manipulation of all the powerful students in Ohtori ''definitely'' makes Akio a good guy...

** Meta example: series-Akio versus movie-Akio. The latter [[spoiler: falls victim to DroppedABridgeOnHim]].

** The player character from the Utena Sega Saturn Game nickname: MarySue.
* FanWank: There's a small group of people who think ''everything [[spoiler:that Anthy]] does in the series'' is manipulative and for ulterior motives. [[spoiler:Yes, even getting (re-)stabbed with a million swords in the last episode. Yes, even when Anthy disappears behind the coffin and reaches out for Utena's hand. All this is supposed to be an act to make Utena feel sorry for her so Anthy can have a prince to manipulate forever so the Rose Bride can finally leave Ohtori.]] [[spoiler:While Anthy]] is very manipulative and much of her actions in the series are malicious, the above interpretation contains several logic bombs: 1.) If [[spoiler: Anthy]] wants a prince to save her from Ohtori, she could've [[spoiler:refused to betray Utena in the penultimate episode, because Utena was ''already doing everything in her power to help Anthy get out of Ohtori''. Anthy's actions make no sense unless you interpret Anthy as being hesitant about leaving.]] 2.) As the series points out, it's not [[spoiler:a lack of a prince or any inherent magic which prevents the Rose Bride from leaving Ohtori; ''it's the Rose Bride's own personal choice to stay.'' Utena's feelings for Anthy, or Anthy's lack of a prince, have nothing to do with magically binding her to the duels.]]
** Don't forget the speculation that [[spoiler:young Anthy rapes young Dios in flashblack, simply due to the fact that the two of them take shelter in a barn (as per the English double-entendre "rolling in the hay"). Supporters of this particular [[EpilecticTrees Tree]] insist that Anthy was waiting for the "perfect moment" to "taint" her brother and "claim him for herself", forgetting that this is the same Anthy who took thousands of stab wounds to keep him, and neglecting to explain at all why anyone would stop to rape their older brother when being chased by a sword-wielding mob.]]

* HoYay (Mikage and Mamiya, Touga and Saionji, Akio and AnythingThatMoves, also briefly in one episode Touga and Miki)
* LesYay (Aside from Utena and Anthy, who toe the line between subtext and actual text, there's [[RomanticTwoGirlFriendship Utena and Wakaba]], [[SempaiKohai Utena and Juri]], [[AllLoveIsUnrequited Juri and Shiori]], and [[BiTheWay Anthy and Kozue]]. Oh, and the [[TheFaceless Shadow Girls]], every so often.)

* MindScrew: Everything in the series can qualify if you think about it.
** The fact that Ikuhara is a friend of HideakiAnno explains ''a lot''.
** The movie. Just...the movie.
** Let's just say that the series becomes more and more of a MindScrew with each arc. It starts pretty normal, starts losing it in the Black Rose arc, becomes a metaphor/symbolism storm in the final arc and the movie is a mental trainwreck, plain and simple.

* RealWomenNeverWearDresses: Both in the fandom and Deconstructed in the series. Some people hate Anthy because she's a weak, outwardly emotionless doll who claims to have no opinions outside of the Victor's whims. Others hate Anthy because they think she's ''too'' powerful and manipulative and evil. And some just hate her because she gets to sleep with Akio, and they don't. Interestingly, all the kinds of Anthy-haters in the fandom are present in the story: Saionji hates her because he thinks she's not obedient enough. (Well, he loves her too, but beats her often enough to make ya wonder.) Juri and Kanae feels threatened both by her EmotionlessDoormat persona ''and'' the fear that she might be more sinister, and several of the Black Rose Duelists envy her for "being loved" and "stealing their love interests". Then there's Akio, who needs to keep "his woman" under his control in order to keep playing the BigBad of the show...Ikuhara really knows how society views feminine archetypes, and those views are reflected even in the Utena fandom.

* FanDisservice: ''A lot'' of the sexuality takes on this aspect when you think about the other aspects of it, and it's pretty much a given that almost every sex scene in the series and movie has [[RapeIsLove something]] [[MoreThanMindControl twisted]] behind it, most notably the ones between [[spoiler:Akio and Anthy]] and [[spoiler:Touga and his father]] in the movie.
** For a show with a fair amount of Fan Service, the only bona fide nudity ends up being rather disturbing.

* FanDisservice: YourMileageMayVary, though it's hard not to find something wrong with several of the relationships.

216 ** The fact that Ikuhara is a friend of HideakiAnno explains ''a lot''.
217 ** The movie. Just...the movie.
218 ** Let's just say that the series becomes more and more of a MindScrew with each arc. It starts pretty normal, starts losing it in the Black Rose arc, becomes a metaphor/symbolism storm in the final arc and the movie is a mental trainwreck, plain and simple.